The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-05-06
The Kentucky Platform.

If the platform adopted by the Kentucky
| Democrats at their State convention which
| assembled in Louisville on Wednesday rep
resents their sentiments they are not in har-
mony with the administration ON the silver
and civil service reform issues The plat
| form commends the President for giving the
| country national, clean and economic adj
! ministration and for vetoing pension bills, but
it does not approve of his silver and civil
service reform policies. 1t remains to
be seen how many other State conventions
will agree with that of Kentucky before the
meeting of the national convention. The
Kentucky convention may be considered to
be the first of the State conventions which
will have direct influence on the national
campaign, and its utterances, therefore, will
attract great attention
OF course it could have said nothing less
about the President. Even Republicans do
not deny that he is an honest President, and
they are willing to admit that he has given
the country a safe and an economical ad-
ministration. But are the Kentucky Demo
Gratis quite sure that the planks in their
platform respecting the currency and civil
service reform will meet with the approval
of the National convention2 The civil ser
vice plank means that they are in
favor of going back to the spoils
system, and if they possessed the
honesty and frankness which they accord to
the President they would have said So
Their declaration that 1--WE favor honest
civil service reform" doesn't deceive any
body, especially when they distinctly an
nounce that they are opposed to the present
civil service system.
There is nothing more certain than that
the reform of the civil service which the
President is trying to carry out has come to
stay. Neither the Democratic nor the Re
publican party will dare to announce in its
national platform that it favors the repeal
of the civil service law. The
so popular with the people is because
he has enforced that law. If he is renomi-
mated it will be largely because he has en-
forced it, and because, if reelected, he will
continue to enforce it, notwithstanding the
opposition of the politicians.
Congressman Breckenridge stated in his
speech before the convention that although
Mr.. Cleveland was not all that every Demo
crat would have him he was better than the
best Republican who ever lived. BY that
he meant to say that the politicians would
oppose his denomination if they thought
they could elect anybody else.
The Democratic party is largely response
BILE for the civil service reform law. The
people demanded it, and their demand had to
be acceded to. They do not want it repeal
ed. On the contrary, they want it enforced,
and it looks now as if they intend that the
next President shall be man who will en-
force it.
The currency plank of the platform is not
frank expression of opinion ON the silver
issue. The issue is evaded. What is said
may mean one thing or another In view
of the fact however, that the convention
was guarded in its Endorsement of the Presi-
dent it is fair to presume that its purpose
was to go as far as it dered in the direction
of favoring silver The Kentucky platform
will hardly be taken as a model by Demo
Gratis of many of the other States.